Person 'Collects' Absurd 911 Phone Calls, Starts Animating The Best Ones

When it comes to asking for help, most of us have a pretty clear definition of an emergency. Some people, however, think that having a beef with a fast food restaurant manager can only be settled by a police officer.

A TikTok user who goes by the nickname Sock Puppet Master has been animating some of the funniest 911 calls, and they're so absurd, it's hard to believe they actually happened. But they did.

These exchanges have already racked up millions of views and likes for Sock Puppet Master on the platform and since the numbers just keep growing, Bored Panda decided to feature them as well!

More info: TikTok

Sock Puppet Master is a Florida native who moved up to New Jersey when she was in college. She has been an artist and writer since high school, and that background helps a lot with the animations.

Sock Puppet Master started animating right before Thanksgiving as "the weird holiday blues" started to creep in. Her goal at first was just to be silly and send the videos to her friends in an attempt to make them laugh. But she eventually decided to drop a few into TikTok and the series really took off.

"I work in healthcare marketing and have worked in many creative agencies as well," she told Bored Panda. "Putting it all together—the drawing, storytelling, and work experience—has been a lot of fun. I live with my cat and my bird with loved ones all over the US, so this is a great way to stay connected and engaged with the world even in isolation."

"I didn't start specifically with 911 calls in mind, it's just serendipity that led me there. I was just messing around on YouTube, looking for funny short videos so I could have an excuse to animate without writing my own material, which can be time-consuming. This was just low-hanging fruit..."

As she stumbled upon these calls, they gave Sock Puppet Master such vivid images of the people on them, she simply couldn't help herself. "The first one came out so well I just picked up a few more as I found them," she recalled.

"In fact, there are a finite number of funny 911 calls—so I look for other sources like newscasts and viral videos in general. As long as I keep finding 911 calls that are funny (and real), I'll keep dreaming up the visuals. So far, 2 people have offered suggestions that I animated, so I'm always happy to hear ideas."

Non-emergency calls constitute a large portion of all 911 calls. As you can see, callers phone 911 to ask about pretty much anything. Also, since wireless carriers do not charge for 911 calls, cell phone users sometimes call 911 and ask the dispatcher to transfer their call to a non-police number, to avoid paying for it. At least one police agency found that it was their own off-duty personnel who abused 911 in this way.

To put things into perspective, consider this: in 2000, 40 percent of the 911 calls in Jefferson County, Kentucky, were nonemergencies. In Floyd County, Indiana, reports stated that nearly half of all the 911 calls were nonemergencies. A year later, in 2001, the San Diego Sheriff's Department reported that more than half of its 911 calls were frivolous.

"As far as choosing what to animate, it's just a function of whether it is already funny, knowing that the outcome was not a horrible thing and whether the descriptions will serve animating well," Sock Puppet Master explained. "I try to avoid fake 911 calls or anything that is an obvious tragedy, because that is never funny, of course."

"YouTube seems to be the best place to find content that I can animate. Even with the funny ones, people can have a visceral reaction, and all of a sudden you're knee-deep in politics. So I'm trying to choose carefully and be thoughtful about it."

The creator didn't turn on comments on her videos at first because she was legitimately afraid of the feedback. "I was afraid people would think they stink. But then I finally turned them on and the floodgates opened. The reaction was so great and so positive. People are complementary and hilarious and they are laughing. Imagine that. Just knowing I did some stupid little thing that made someone smile makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Just overwhelmingly positive responses. I'm thrilled."

Sock Puppet Master enjoys watching some of the conversations spin out in the comments section too. At one point, for example, users Playboi and Fartfanoogen were having a serious throwdown about a political topic in the comments section of an animated cartoon.

Sock Puppet Master plans to keep producing these videos as long as she knows they are making people happy, "especially in a time where lots of us are anxious and depressed about the world."

"If I can provide one person with a little mental break from [what's happening], that's enough for me," she said. "In the end, these are always for me. I just share them with the world for that subset of people like me who love cartoons!"